EMS Nominated for Centrum Guardian Project Awards | Western Cape Government

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EMS Nominated for Centrum Guardian Project Awards

8 July 2012

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has once again reached the semi-finals for the Centrum Guardian Awards Competition, which recognises emergency workers who go beyond their call of duty. In 2010, Western Cape Government (WCG) Health's EMS came first in the competition. This year, a team of 14 "greens" (ambulance and rescue personnel) and seven Fire and Rescue (Stellenbosch) employees have been nominated for the endurance section of the competition after their hard work was identified on a tough and tedious structural collapse scene that took place in the early hours of 23 August 2011.

On that Tuesday morning, EMS Stellenbosch base responded to a structural collapse in an open field in Idas Valley, Stellenbosch. Three homeless men had become trapped after the concrete structure they used for shelter caved in on their sleeping bodies.

Initially, the first crew on the scene could only see an arm, shoulder and head protruding from an opening in the rubble. The patient was in distress, screaming and moving his arm to try to break free. After assessing the situation, one of the EMS Rescue Technicians decided that the slab was too unstable to remove directly and on his own. The structural collapse unit from EMS Rescue responded from Pinelands, Cape Town, while local Fire and Rescue (Stellenbosch) were called for back-up.

Because of the poor visibility, rain and muddy conditions, the setting was hazardous. EMS paramedics brought their medical equipment closer to the scene and the fire crew placed a ladder over the opening to give the EMS practitioners access to administer a drip. The IV line was kept elevated by the paramedics, while all emergency agencies on the scene tried to find better ways to obtain access to the three men.

A secondary assessment of the scene was made by EMS Rescue Cape Town on arrival. A solid position was chosen from which to lift the block of concrete. The rescuers then lifted and stabilised the concrete simultaneously until the patient's right arm was freed with the use of the Jaws of Life and other mechanical tools. The man seemed relieved after EMS practitioners were able to calm him down. A separate piece of concrete had broken off during the collapse, which had entrapped the patient's legs. Rescuers used the same process as before to remove the rest of the concrete and debris away from the survivor's body. He was then placed onto a stretcher and administered a second drip and pain relief medication. He sustained serious crush injuries and was immediately transported to Stellenbosch Hospital by EMS ambulance.

Due to the injuries they sustained during the collapse, the two remaining men had died and were declared deceased by EMS personnel. Their bodies were removed from the collapsed structure in the same way that the living patient was freed. The rescue took six hours to complete and a team of 23 rescue, medical and fire personnel who managed to save the life of one man, giving him a second lease on life.

Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, said: "Western Cape Government Health is very proud that another team has made it to the semi-finals. Our staff work very hard daily to ensure that they provide the best level of care to the community and we constantly train them to respond to such unique rescue calls as the one nominated. R701 million or 4.8% of the provincial health budget is allocated to the emergency medical service directorate of which R700 000 was used to furnish a specialised structural collapse unit, which became instrumental to the success of the rescue."

We'd like to rally all the support for the team in their journey throughout the competition. WCG Health's EMS once again has the chance to win this national accolade!
Show your support by voting:

The voting for the semi-finalists closes on 30 September 2012.

An episode of the re-enactment will be aired on the 16th (22:00) and 17th (10:00) of August 2012 and a recap of the semi-finalists on the 23rd (22:10) and 24th (10:00) of August on SABC 3.

Media Enquiries: 

Keri Davids
Principal Communications Officer: Emergency Medical Services
Tel: 021 948 9908
Cell: 083 286 4227
E-mail: Keri.Davids@westerncape.gov.za